Benjamin f



B. I; SMITH. Non-Conducting Covering.

Patented Mar; 23,1880.

N.PETERS4 PHOm-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D, C.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

BENJAMIN F. SMITH, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OFHIS RIGHT TO CHARLES J. LEWIS, OF SAME PLACE.

NON- -CONDUCTING COVERING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,767, dated March23, 1880.

Application filed February 24, 1880.

To all whom of may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. SMITH, of the city of New Orleans,parish of Orleans, and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Non-Gonducting Coverings, of which the followingis a specification, the same being an improvement on the non-conductingcovering for which a patent was granted me February 21, 1871,

The object of my invention is the production of a covering forsteamboilers and steam-pipes which, by reason of its qualities as anon-coir doctor of heat, will afford protection against the loss ofsteam by condensation due to atmospheric influence, and so result in agreat saving of the fuel required for the generation of steam.

This covering, which in ordinary parlance I designate as a felting forsteam-boilers and steam-pipes, is also applicable wherever it isdesirable to afford protection against the action of external oratmospheric heat, as in the case either of domestic refrigerators or ofvessels intended for transportation of perishable articles by sea,whether flesh or fruit, or for the preservation of like articles duringland transit in railroad-cars, the felting in either of these cases orunder other circum- 0 stances of analogous use being so applied as toenvelop or afford a covering for the articles to be protected againstinjury from heat.

Heretofore in the use of cotton-seed hulls and rice-seed hulls ascontemplated in my 3 5 said patent, as well as in all other forms ofnon-conductors which are put over the entire surface to be protected, itis found diflicult, if not impossible, to remove the covering forrepairs Without either greatly injuring or entirely o destroying it.

To remedy this evil I make up my covering or felting in sections, andpreferably about two feet in width by two or more feet in length, thusenabling any unskilled laborer either to 5 apply them or remove anysection of the same and replace it without injury to itself or any othersection.

Iwill now proceed to describe my modeof preparing these sections of myimproved felting.

In the drawings, Figure 1, A indicates a tube, made of paperand open ateach end. This tube I fill with the hulls of cotton-seed or the hulls ofrice-seed, or with a mixture of both, using for such purpose any properinstrument for ramming such hulls into the tube with regularity andcompactness. These tubes, in practice, make about two inches in diameterby two feet in length, and, for convenience, I make them of tubularform, as shown, although they may be made four-sided or square incross-section, or of any other form which will answer the purposedesigned, my object being to construct my improved felting of tubesfilled, as above described, thereby securing an evenness and compactnessin the body of the felting which can be secured in no other way.

111 Fig. 2, B indicates a strip of cotton cloth, (that known as drillingpreferred,) which in width is equal to the length of the tubes A, shownin said figure. To the side edges of this cloth I paste strips of toughpliable paper, as shown at b. These strips are made of such width thatwhen the tubes are laid upon the cloth B, as shown in Fig.2, they may helapped up over the ends of the tubes, as shown in Fig. 4, and in suchposition secured by glue or paste, and thus keep the hulls of the cottonor rice seed within the tubes. Having filled a sufficient number oftubes with which to construct a given section of my felting, these tubesare then glued or pasted upon a cloth, as at B, provided with sidelapping, b, of paper, as represented in Fig. 2. These tubes are securedside by side, as indicated in the figure, and in the act of gluing themthereon are pressed against each other, so as to snugly abut and in suchposition be retained when the glue or paste becomes dry. Having thusglued the several tubes A to the cloth or backing B, that portion of thepaper strips 1) which extends beyond the ends of the tubes is thenturned over these ends and pasted down upon the tubes, as seen in Fig.4.. The pressing of the tubes together in the act of securing them uponthe cloth B will cause each of the 5 tubes to assume an npwardly-bulgingform; but when the glue becomes dry and pressure is applied upon thesection these tubes will then be made to assume the shape and compactabutment against each other shown in section in Fig. 3, or this compactcondition of the tubes may be effected simply by binding the sectionsaround a steampipe to be protected.

The cloth B serves as a backing to the section of felting and forholding the tubes in position, and in making up a section a portion ofthis backin g at one end is not covered by a tube, and serves as a meansof handling the section and of properly securing its two ends togetherwhen wound around a steampipe. This backing B also serves as a means forfastening the felting to surfaces to be protected, and in so doing thenails may be passed between adjoining tubes, and thus avoid penetratingthem to their injury.

Instead, however, of using cloth for the backing B, I can with advantageuse strong paper, and whether the backing be made of paper or cloth, thebacking itself may be of such dimensions as will admit of its beingturned up over the ends of the tubes.

In applying my felting to a surface the backing B serves as an outer anduniform covering or protection to the several tubes employed inconstructing a given section thereof; and it is manifest that where anyobject or surface requires a large quantity of my felting to protect itany particular portion of it may be removed and a new section suppliedwithout injury to or disturbance of the whole quantity of feltingemployed to cover such object.

Felting thus made up constitutes a merchantableartiele for the trade,well adapted for transportation, and ready for use when required.

The felting thus constructed I contemplate, in some instances, to placedirectly in contact with a steam-pipe or steam-boiler but under somecircumstances, in order to protect the felting from the direct action ofthe heat of the pipe or boiler, I make annular air-spaces around thepipe or boiler to which the felting is applied, as indicated in Fig. 5.I make tubes or bags of cotton cloth about two inches in diameter and oflengths to go around the pipe or boiler and fill them with cotton-seedhulls. These tubes or bags, as at a, I place around the pipe or boilerO,(represented in said figure,) say twelve inches apart, and fasten themin place. I then lay on pasteboard d and thereupon apply the feltingaround the pasteboard with the tubes A of. the felting extending in thedirection of the length of the pipeor boiler. By such mode of applyingthe felting the air confined in the annular spaces, as at 0, around thepipe or boiler is perfectly secured against circulation or escape in alongitudinal direction.

Heretofore air-spaces between steam pipes and boilers and their non 4conducting covering have been made to extend the whole length of suchpipes or boilers, in which case a defect at eitherend would permit theescape of the air and its circulation the whole length of the pipe orboiler. But by my mode of applyin g the felting, just described, I canavail myself of air-spaces (one inch in depth of which with one inch inthickness of felt will be equivalent to two inches in thickness of felt)with out liabilityto such objectionable circulation and escape of air.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section in the line 00 .r of Fig. 5.

Having described my invention, what I claim is v 1. Felting which iscomposed of non-conducting substance inclosed in a series of tubesapplied to a backin g of cloth or paper orother flexible backing,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In combination with the felting A and pipe 0, or its equivalent, thepartitions a,whereby annular air-spaces e are formed, substantially asand for the purpose described.

\Vitness my hand in the matter of my application for a patent forimprovement in nonconducting material or felting this 8th day of April,A. D. 1878.

BENJ. F. SMITH.

\Vitnesses:

W. A. S. WHEELER, G. A. WILLIAMS.

